Lately I have been getting very frustrated with unsolicited parenting advice. Not to sound ungrateful, because I am sure peoples intentions are good, but I find it somewhat invasive and brazen to tell someone else what they should or shouldn't be doing with their child. It's starting to really drive me nuts! 
Now, the odd thing about this, is it's people who don't really know me or my parenting style. Coworkers, my mothers coworkers, my mother in law (who I'm sorry- raised the best man in the world- but her and I couldn't disagree about things MORE). I welcome advice from people when I seek it... or the occasional gentle suggestion from my Mama friends or Childcare provider. But when the receptionist at my work lectures me that I should practice "cry it out" and shouldn't co-sleep, well, that's when the helpfulness ends.
I do have a particular way I parent. That WE parent. Balance to us, is key. We don't co sleep all the time...but when it's called for, we do. I try not to give my son plastic crap, but yeah he has a few plastic toys. We do NOT practice CIO right now, maybe when he's old enough to understand, that will change. I exclusively breast feed, no formula, but foods coming. He has had some vaccinations, but others we have opted against. Balance, balance, balance. Every choice we make for him, we make with a thought process behind it.
I feel like each person should raise their child the way they see fit. You may do things differently than I and vice versa.
Now, the odd thing about this, is it's people who don't really know me or my parenting style. Coworkers, my mothers coworkers, my mother in law (who I'm sorry- raised the best man in the world- but her and I couldn't disagree about things MORE). I welcome advice from people when I seek it... or the occasional gentle suggestion from my Mama friends or Childcare provider. But when the receptionist at my work lectures me that I should practice "cry it out" and shouldn't co-sleep, well, that's when the helpfulness ends.
I do have a particular way I parent. That WE parent. Balance to us, is key. We don't co sleep all the time...but when it's called for, we do. I try not to give my son plastic crap, but yeah he has a few plastic toys. We do NOT practice CIO right now, maybe when he's old enough to understand, that will change. I exclusively breast feed, no formula, but foods coming. He has had some vaccinations, but others we have opted against. Balance, balance, balance. Every choice we make for him, we make with a thought process behind it.
I feel like each person should raise their child the way they see fit. You may do things differently than I and vice versa.
I read websites all the time that are filled with these awesome moms who have the best ideas and I adore reading what they do...and I do pick up ideas here and there that I feel apply to my method of parenting. To me, that's so warm and unobtrusive. I much prefer to gather my advice that way! The rest, well, I think I need to just tone them out!
"Balance" is the perfect word. Knowing how to receive (and then, sometimes, discard) a never-ending stream of advice was a shift for me too. :)
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